That's Christianity, not socialism, Mr. Thomas

Published May 23. 2014 12:01AM

Dr. Robert Perry Mystic

The op-ed, "Pope Francis' unwise embrace of socialism," (May 14), by Cal Thomas deserves some comments. If charity and philanthropy were such effective means to thwart poverty, as Thomas states, then why is poverty increasing in this country? Why is there a widening gap between the rich and the others, notably the poor? Why have middle-class incomes stagnated or gone down over the last 20 years?

If Cal Thomas were to carefully read the writings of Pope Francis, he would find that Francis is just echoing what is said in a book called the Bible.

As the pope states, "trickle down" economics alone (money from the rich will help lift up the poor) has never worked and will never work. Thus nations have a moral obligation to help the balance. This is not socialism. This is the gospel message.